Passengers of the Emerald Princess cruise ship disembark on Wednesday, July 26, 2017, in Juneau, Alaska, hours after arriving at port. A domestic dispute aboard the cruise ship led to the death of a 39-year-old Utah woman, and the FBI is investigating what happened in U.S. waters off Alaska, the agency said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

The Emerald Princess cruise ship is docked in Juneau, Alaska, Wednesday, July 26, 2017. The FBI is investigating the domestic dispute death of a Utah woman on board the ship, which was traveling in U.S. waters off Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

The Latest: Husband in cruise ship death appears in court

The Latest: Husband in cruise ship death appears in court

Jul. 27, 2017

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Latest on a woman's death in what authorities called a domestic dispute on a cruise ship off the coast of Alaska (all times local):

3 p.m.

A federal judge has appointed a public defender for a Utah man charged with murder in the death of his wife aboard an Alaska cruise ship.

Kenneth Manzanares of Santa Clara, Utah, appeared to be crying at times before the start of the hearing and near the start, when U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin F. McCoy began speaking.

He dabbed at his eyes and nose with tissues.

Manzanares participated via teleconference in his first court appearance from Juneau. He is being held in connection with the Tuesday death of 39-year-old Kristy Manzanares.

Kenneth Manzanares was wearing an orange jumpsuit during the proceedings. He had his ankles shackled and was wearing slip-on shoes.

McCoy appointed assistant federal defender Jamie McGrady, who was not at the hearing. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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1:45 p.m.

The employer of a Utah woman who was killed in what authorities called a domestic dispute aboard an Alaska cruise ship says she was a dedicated and loving mother who put her children ahead of her career in real estate.

Summit Sotheby's International Realty says Kristy Manzanares was a trusted adviser and valued sales associate in the St. George, Utah, office.

Her husband, Kenneth Manzanares, has been charged with murder in the death Tuesday aboard the Emerald Princess.

The FBI investigated the death because it occurred in U.S. waters.

Kenneth Manzanares was expected to make his first court appearance later Thursday. He doesn't have any criminal record in Utah, according to online state records.

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11:20 a.m.

U.S. prosecutors say a Utah man has been charged with murder in the death of his wife aboard an Alaska cruise.

Acting U.S. Attorney for Alaska Bryan Schroder said Thursday that Kenneth Manzanares was charged after his wife, Kristy, was found dead with a severe head wound in their cabin aboard the Princess Cruises ship.

An FBI criminal complaint says Kenneth Manzanares told an acquaintance who later walked into the blood-splattered room that he killed his wife because she wouldn't stop laughing at him.

Manzanares is scheduled to appear in federal court by videoconference from Juneau later Thursday.

Utah court records show that he has no criminal history.

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9:15 a.m.

Authorities say a Utah man killed his wife aboard a cruise ship and told an acquaintance who later walked into the blood-splattered cabin that he did it because she wouldn't stop laughing at him.

A criminal complaint by an FBI special agent says Kenneth Manzanares was found in the couple's room on the Emerald Princess on Tuesday night with blood on his hands and clothes and blood spread throughout the cabin.

The FBI says the woman, identified only as K.M., had a severe head wound. Manzanares has been arrested.

Court documents say a man entered the cabin and saw the woman on the floor covered in blood. Records say Manzanares grabbed his wife's body and dragged her to the balcony before the witness stopped him.

The FBI is investigating because the death occurred in U.S. waters.

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12:01 a.m.

Federal authorities plan to announce charges in what has been described as a domestic dispute aboard a cruise ship in U.S. waters off Alaska that led to the death of a 39-year-old Utah woman. The FBI said a suspect is in custody.

Princess Cruises says the woman died Tuesday night on the Emerald Princess, which was on a weeklong trip that left Sunday from Seattle. The ship docked in Juneau, Alaska, on Wednesday morning.

Few details about the case were released as investigators went about their work. Passengers were kept aboard the ship for much of the day Wednesday.

The U.S. attorney's office announced that it would hold a news conference with representatives of the FBI and Coast Guard Thursday in Anchorage to announce the filing of federal charges in the case.